This Week in Lists – Week 16

It’s been two weeks since I last left home for work and it feels so weird. I’m actually enjoying the amount of time I can spend in my apartment – it feels like the time spent working on the One Room Challenge in the fall was particularly worthwhile. My desk is positioned with a view out my two bedroom windows looking into the park and I’ve been able to watch as the ground cover turned progressively more green, and daffodils and then tulips appeared and now green buds are on the trees and several of them are flowering. It’s a nice reminder that things are still happening out in the world even while I am mostly trapped inside.

Last week I made a trip to the grocery store but aside from that it was mostly inside activities. I felt lucky that our store is enforcing social distancing and the stock is still mostly full with some minor exceptions. I should be good for a while though so I’m not planning on venturing out. Of course this week I’ve been constantly feeling minor symptoms and without widespread testing there’s no way to know if I have it or if it’s just allergies.

Easter was interesting this weekend. I did a virtual brunch (and pre-brunch workout that is still causing my legs pain) with my friends and it was wonderful. I like that even when we’re spread all over the country, we can still spend time together, and actually spend MORE time together than we did before.

This week though, it’s more of the same. And I’m going to try not to be as lethargic, but it’s hard when my bed is comfortable and also RIGHT THERE. I have plenty of food already prepared for this week so there won’t be much on the cooking front. It’s really just going to be responsibly going through what I have so that I don’t waste anything.

This Week

• March Recap Post
• April Meal Plan Post
• Start assembling quilt
• Go for run
• Make/Eat: Leftovers, pizza, roasted potatoes and meatloaf

This Week

• April Meal Plan Post
• Start assembling quilt
• Go for walk
• Make/Eat: Leftovers

This Month

• Work on Quilt
• Finish 1 knitting project
• Presentation Abstract

This Week in Lists – Week 15

Things haven’t gotten any better that’s for sure. News from friends and just in general is still bad and upsetting and I’m trying to stay in my little bubble and have as little negative impact on others as I can possibly manage. My boss has finally bowed to the inevitable and closed the office for the staff and we’re not really expected to go out to sites unless it’s for a specific active project. Thank goodness because I was about to pitch a fit last week when I thought I was being sent out in the world given everything that’s going on around us.

In terms of provisions, last week I placed a few orders for supplies (alcohol), but I’m still waiting on them to arrive. I went out only once to the farmers market on Saturday. It was a weird scene with individual lines for each stand. I luckily did not need to brave the milk or bread vendors, but got eggs, fresh veggies, turkey sausage and thighs, and some yogurt, buttermilk and ricotta from one of the regular stands. I even talked to people in line, not something I’ve ever done before. It felt good to see people in person. And most people were wearing masks and gloves and *trying* to be good. Whether it has an impact is hard to say, but I appreciated the effort. Grocery delivery is pretty much out of the question, everything is booked solid but I check every morning just in case. Eventually I’ll need to venture out, but I’m trying to hold out as long as I can and I should be good for another couple weeks.

Cooking is all about trying to make things last. I made some bacon and leek risotto and used the leek greens with some shallots and carrots and ginger that were about to go for some stock since the risotto used up all that I had. Then I used some of that stock to make a carrot ginger soup with the carrots and ginger that were still good. I also made a big pasta bake with some of the turkey sausage that’s been great for lunch this week, but tomatoes are in limited supply in this house so it’ll mainly be oil, garlic and lemon for pasta moving forward.

I am incredibly lucky right now and I recognize that. So I’m trying to keep my spirits up and just stay out of everyone else’s way. And hopefully my booze shows up soon.

This Week

• Laundry
• Groceries
• Board call
• Start assembling quilt
• Finish space bag filling and storage
• Workout 3x (2/3)
• April Meal Plan
• Make/Eat: carrots, romaine lettuce, brie, sopressata, chorizo, bacon

This Week

• March Recap Post
• April Meal Plan Post
• Start assembling quilt
• Go for run
• Make/Eat: Leftovers, pizza, roasted potatoes and meatloaf

This Month

• Work on Quilt
• Finish 1 knitting project
• Presentation Abstract

This Week in Lists – Week 14

Well this week has been awful and it’s only Tuesday morning. I keep getting bad news from friends about their family members or other mutual friends and I feel stuck and helpless and there’s a sense that inevitably something will happen to me or someone in my family too.

It doesn’t help that my boss seems to be operating in the most obtuse way possible. Even though non-essential construction projects were halted, several of our transit projects still qualify and so in order to make payroll she wants us going. Which is fine if it’s someone with a car or close enough to bike in, but for those of us who take public transit, it’s a nightmare. Yesterday I trekked out to Brooklyn with a homemade mask and hoped for the best.

On top of that, she still wants someone in the office every day this week and then most days going forward ‘in case the mail gets delivered’. I got very angry on our staff meeting call yesterday because this to me sounds like the most ignorant, dangerous approach, particularly when EVERY OTHER BUSINESS ON OUR BLOCK is shut down. Why does she insist on thinking we are special and not subject to the rules everyone else is supposed to follow? So last night I sobbed while washing dishes because all I can think is that if she keeps sending us out, there’s a chance I may not get to see my family all together again.

I’m scheduled to go in to cover the office on Thursday and at least then I can pick up my respirator and fresh cartridges. I may also just take our bag of tyvek suits to a hospital because my boss seems to think “they’re not the kind that hospitals want”. Apparently she isn’t watching the news.

BUT NOW FOR A LIST

This past week I didn’t wallow as much as I probably expected to, so I got some things done. I had a few video chats with friends, so unfortunately I’m starting to run out of wine (need to keep an eye on my consumption). I finished a pair of socks, made the lemon ricotta pancakes from the Food Lab, watched a bunch of the Fast/Furious movies I hadn’t seen before, and caught up on a lot of my DVR content. I’m finally under 70% capacity so that’s good news, except for the fact that there won’t be new shows for a very long time.

This week I desperately need to do laundry. I’ve also got my first board call with my professional organization. And I need to scramble to figure out what my worksites need to do during the shutdown. Since I’m already going out on Thursday for work I’m also going to need to make a trip to the grocery store for dairy/fruit/coffee. I’m crossing my fingers that there will be food available. And hopefully wine.

Last Week

• Fill out census
• Finish cleaning living room
• Figure out a workout plan
• Laundry
• Start assembling quilt
• Make/Eat: Roasted sweet potatoes, chicken khao soi

This Week

• Laundry
• Groceries
• Board call
• Start assembling quilt
• Finish space bag filling and storage
• Workout 3x
• April Meal Plan
• Make/Eat: carrots, romaine lettuce, brie, sopressata, chorizo, bacon

This Month

• Mealplan for the month
• Two recipes from Food Lab (lemon ricotta pancakes, roasted sweet potatoes)
• Two neighborhood exploration days (LOL NOPE)
• One pasta (Made Ravioli again 3/16 and froze a whole bunch)
• Repot plants
• Company on B’way (LOL NOPE)
• Visit family in NJ (LOL NOPE)

This Week in Lists – Week 13

Well it’s official that life as we knew it is on pause. Because so much of my work is construction supervision, there’s not a ton that I can do from home which is upsetting. I want to feel like I’m still earning my paycheck, which right now I feel very lucky to have – but who knows how long that will last. I’m also very happy that my goals over the last year+ involved building my savings so I have a cushion in case things get really bad. I know how lucky I am to be in a relatively stable situation and so I’m just going to hunker down at home, do some housework and cooking, research some paper topics for future work conferences (whenever they may actually happen!), and try to make some progress on craft projects.

I’ve been in the apartment since Friday when I made one trip out into the world to pick up food that I think will last me for a couple weeks. I’m trying not to read or watch the news because I know that everything is bad and I don’t want to dwell on it if I don’t have to. Probably the most disappointing were the events that had to be cancelled. We won’t be seeing Company on Broadway any time soon, and my family will have to be separate for a while. Though my dad has discussed after two weeks of quarantining that we might all move home, I don’t know how I feel about that just yet.

Last Week

• Mail in lease renewal (this is the week, I swear!)
• Gym 3x (LOL NOPE)
• groceries
• Select pasta and food lab recipes
• post march mealplan
• Make/Eat: Tortellini soup, Spicy Mediterranean chicken

This Week

• Fill out census
• Finish cleaning living room
• Figure out a workout plan
• Laundry
• Start assembling quilt
• Make/Eat: Roasted sweet potatoes, chicken khao soi

This Month

• Mealplan for the month
• Two recipes from Food Lab
• Two neighborhood exploration days (LOL NOPE)
• One pasta (Made Ravioli again 3/16 and froze a whole bunch)
• Repot plants
• Company on B’way (LOL NOPE)
• Visit family in NJ (LOL NOPE)

The Library

Haven’t been reading much good this week, because everything is terrible and it’s just news about how much worse it’s getting. But this was good and relevant:

• Talking to parents and grandparents about how to prepare for a disease that targets the elderly when they don’t think of themselves as elderly (Buzzfeed)

This Week in Lists – Week 11

Nothing sums up Texas quite like a sculpture of a crazy lady firing a cannon

I had a wonderful weekend in Austin celebrating my friend Cip (both for her upcoming wedding and for her birthday). I love when a group of people come together who have never met before and all get along swimmingly – it’s a sign that someone is really good about choosing their friends.

Flying out of JFK on Friday evening was crazy though, the place felt deserted. People are really starting to freak out about the coronavirus outbreak and we’ve now moved past the hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paper phase into new levels of irrational behavior – like the guy wearing a dust mask and goggles on my flight home (who took the goggles off while we were waiting to deplane *facepalm* *disinfects hands*). I’m hoping to go home to NJ on Saturday to see my family, so I’ll also be hoping I haven’t contracted anything by then.

Last Week

• Mail in lease renewal
• Backup iPhone
• February recap post
• Pack for Bachelorette/ Go to Austin!
• Dentist
• Gym x2

This Week

• Mail in lease renewal (this is the week, I swear!)
• Gym 3x
• groceries
• Select pasta and food lab recipes
• post march mealplan
• Make/Eat: Tortellini soup, Spicy Mediterranean chicken

This Month

• Mealplan for the month
• Two recipes from Food Lab
• Two neighborhood exploration days
• One pasta
• Repot plants
• Company on B’way
• Visit family in NJ

The Library

Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve been reading and paying attention to this week:

• Reading about Fran Drescher is like entering a wormhole back to my youth. (The Cut)
• Pete Buttigieg dropping out of the presidential race has a lot of people reflecting on the significance of the first major openly gay candidate to run for that office. I hope it sets a precedent and inspires many more to follow in his footsteps (Tom & Lorenzo)
• I may feel some kind of way about millennial design (just look at all my house plants and brass accents), but god help me if brown starts to dominate (The Cut)
• I’m clearly a fan of Tom and Lorenzo’s writing and criticism so it’s no surprise that I’m excited for their book Legendary Children. This excerpt about the history of the lip sync has confirmed that I’m right to be excited (Vulture)
• Well now I’ll be thinking about all the people stocking up on bleach and toilet paper as Hamsterkäufes instead of coronavirus preppers (New Yorker)

Things I Think about February 2020

February was jam packed this year. I’m usually busy with birthday related activities, but this year it was just one thing after the other on the home front and work front. I didn’t get to do as many of the items I’d put on my goal list, but making ravioli for the first time was definitely a highlight. I’m so excited to keep making pasta.

Themes of the Month were:

• Citrus
• Cat-sitting

Watched:

• Fleabag S1 & S2
• Good Omens
• Love Is Blind (so terrible, so addictive)
• Wicked on Broadway
• Jagged Little Pill on Broadway

Explored:

• What it would be like to have a cat

Read:

• Lots of articles about plaster
• Listened to lots of podcasts about royal consorts and politics

Ate:

• Spaghetti with “fruit of the sea”
• Homemade ravioli
• Chocolate orange cake
• Persimmon bread
• Super Bowl apps

Made:

• Boneyard Shawl

Checking in with my Intentions for 2020

• Cook 12 meals from The Food Lab (1/12)
• Make pasta 12 times (2/12)
• Spin 2 skeins of yarn (0/2)
• Finish a quilt
• Use Food Journal
• Submit gym fee reimbursement
• More thrifting/destashing (one item sold in January)
• Take more pictures for instagram, the blog, and me
• Spend one weekend day a month exploring (1/12)
• Think about how I want to spend my 40th birthday
• Save at least 6 rent payments
• Achieve Ravelry 2020 Challenge goal (2/12)
• Achieve Goodreads 2020 Challenge goal
• Regular meal plan posts for the month (2/12)

This Week in Lists – Week 10

I had a really great time at a professional conference last week. I always feel like I’m not very good at socializing in these settings but then I surprise myself. There were a lot of interesting presentations and I got to meet a lot of people I’ve only corresponded with over email. Plus the hotel, Graduate Providence, itself was pretty cool, even down to the pencils cladding the coffee bar in “Poindexter’s” above. I loved the aesthetics of the place. Look at the pegboard used for the “paneling” at the bottom of the wall!

Over the weekend I got a haircut and bought a bridesmaid dress and I’m in love with it. It’s definitely something I can wear again but who knows when I will ever have an occasion. Guess I need to start going to the opera on a regular basis. And then this weekend I’ll be heading to Austin for the bachelorette party. I’ve never *really* been to Texas, mostly just layovers at an airport or driving through a tiny section on the way somewhere else. So I’m looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about!

I didn’t get to a few of my monthly goals for February so I’m going to try and make up for them this month. I have a lot on the schedule so it’s going to be tricky.

Last Week

• Mail in lease renewal
• Backup iPhone
• Kombucha
• Gym 2x
• Laundry
• Pick a bridesmaid dress
• February recap post
• Farmers Market
• Make: Food Lab Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This Week

• Mail in lease renewal
• Backup iPhone
• February recap post
• Pack for Bachelorette/ Go to Austin!
• Dentist
• Gym x2

Last Month

• Clean out closets (sorted my sweaters!)
• Organize craft area (halfway there)
• Broadway shows
• APTNE Symposium
• One recipe from Food Lab
• One pasta
• One neighborhood exploration day
• Mealplan for the month

This Month

• Mealplan for the month
• Two recipes from Food Lab
• Two neighborhood exploration days
• One pasta
• Repot plants
• Company on B’way
• Visit family in NJ

The Library

Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve been reading and paying attention to this week:

• On the flawed character of Diane Nguyen from Bojack Horseman (Slate)
• Film Twitter is notorious for being occasionally toxic, but this past week was particularly unpleasant and offensive (Roger Ebert)
• I’ve always wondered how people get large pieces of furniture in (and out of!) their apartments and of course you need to pay someone to take them apart! (Curbed)
• This gumbo bread inspired by a tweet about a dream someone else had sounds amazing and I want it in my belly (The Takeout)
• When all your friends have kids, friendship is different and both roles have their complications (Cup of Jo)
• The author is constantly reminded of a thing from her youth that was very public online and feeling shame about it. How many of us are constantly followed by something we did when we were young and stupid? How much worse is it when it’s all over the internet for everyone to see at any time? Why is it that only certain people feel that shame while others can shrug it off? (The Cut)